Video capture in Windows and Linux

[Temlakos]

Tim in Australia:

You asked, in another thread:

> I'd be interested to know what you use for that (software and hardware).
> I've yet to find anything that isn't painful, or actually works.

The current hardware:

Lenovo IdeaCenter K450. 12 GB RAM, Intel Core i5, clock speed > 3 GHz. 
Has three clock-speed settings and a "hardware switch" to set them. I 
run it in Turbo mode, described as suitable for gaming.

Hauppauge Computer Works' HD-PVR2, the Gaming Edition. Set for a Sony 
Playstation. Accepts component video from a set-top box. (They can't 
encrypt component video, but they can and do encrypt HDMI.)

Hauppauge Video Capture application and service. The service listens to 
a physical button on the capture box. Push the button, and the capture 
will begin at once.

The product: a video using the H.264 video and MP4 audio codecs. 
Sampling rate: set at 14 Kbps and constant. Uses the Transfer Stream 
(.ts) container.

I then use Nero's Platinum (version 14) software for authoring of DVD 
and Blu-Ray disks. To produce the latter, I replaced the existing 
optical drive with a Blu-Ray burner from LG. (I forget the model number 
just now. It's rated at 14-spin.)

Hauppauge Computer Works is the clear winner for video capture devices. 
And they are the only company that builds a capture device for American 
high-definition television (1920 x 1080, interlaced).

Level of satisfaction: fair. Every now and again, a captured video will 
not transcode. It will hang at a certain scene--always the same scene if 
I try to abort and restart, so nothing will serve except to capture it 
all over again. (Which is why I always capture a DVR recording, or at 
least have a DVR running to back me up in case the live capture fails.) 
I have found that nothing less than two hours of total down time 
(physical power-off shutdown) will suffice to cool down the processor 
before I can make another capture. (If I try to "just be patient" and 
let the authoring tool complete the transcode, it will transcode all 
right--but the optical disk it produces will be unplayable--a 
"coaster.") And even then--well, just now I am waiting to try for the 
third time to capture a recording. And I have enough coasters to set a 
table for an IT banquet.

Now anyone here can jump in to tell me whether the MythTV project has 
anything going with the Hauppauge HD-PVR2. And how soon Linux will be 
able to "just play" a Blu-Ray disk, either commercial or one of my 
home-burn jobs.

Temlakos